Brother and sister, take care of each other. He nodded his agreement to that deal. Though he didn't know what it meant, to take care of another. Protect, perhaps? Her smile and the way she held his hand solidified his internal response. Yes. He would protect her.
"No, I was not cursed," he scoffed at the idea, but then reconsidered, frowning slightly, "Or maybe I was. But I discovered I could change form while I was still in the mountain. I can do it with concentration, slip between human and dragon form. Sometimes I--" he thought back to the moment the Slayer had pierced his side, forcing his transformation to his true self, and a flicker of anger flashed in his eyes, "Sometimes I lose that control."
Considering Xanthippe a moment, Ashton continued, "But the Headmistress has given me specific guidelines to follow. I may only transform between 11pm ad 4am. And to not be around humans outside the school when I do so. Among other rules." Shrugging slightly, the dragon reached with his free hand to close around the second one she had put on his, his fingers encircling her wrist to turn her palm out, gently and with an exploring kind of touch like it was the first time he had touched another, and he wanted to do so, now that they were matched as brother and sister.
"What of you, Xanthippe? You cannot transform?" Green eyes glanced up at her crown of snakes, watching them move for a moment before he went back to inspecting her palm, tracing the lines of her fingers.